The Silver Arrows
by rulerxofxnestleyland
Summary: rewritten version of FTTC AU: Hermione Granger, a graduate of Beauxbatons comes to England searching for a Quidditch team that would take her in. Is it a coincidence that her soulmate is the captain of one of the most popular teams in England?
1. Chapter 1

**The Silver Arrows**

**Summary: **(rewritten version of FlyingThroughTheClouds) AU - Hermione Granger, a graduate of Beauxbatons comes to England searching for a Quidditch team that would take her in. Is it a coincidence that her soul-mate would be the captain of one of the most popular teams in England? H/Hr, D/G, R/L, and other pairings as well.

**Author: **rulerofnestleyland

**Disclaimer: **I own anything you don't recognize from canon.

**Author Notes: **This story was my first ever, and I had it on here as Flying Through The Clouds. After I finished it, I realized just how bad it really was, so I decided to rewrite it. Here is the improved version!

**Chapter 1: The Silver Arrows.**

"I would like to make a toast."

A certain wizard with messy black hair and warm green eyes, hidden behind a pair of rectangular-shaped glasses, stood up, holding his glass of wine away from him, and grinned around at his friends who were looking at him expectantly.

"The Silver Arrows is the best thing that ever happened to me, and I'm happy to be here with all of you tonight", he continued seriously as he looked around. "What we achieved this evening has made me prouder than ever to be a part of this team, and the wonderful people in it." In turn, he lifted his glasses at each player in front of him, paying them all compliments as he did so. "Oliver—you're the best keeper, and faithful friend anyone could find. Ron, Draco—Thank you for putting up with me all these years. Of course, Draco was always a prat—"

"Hey!" Said the blonde indignantly, and Harry laughed.

"It's true, mate", he smirked, teasing, then continued. "As I was saying, Draco was—Alright, alright; don't look at me like that. Adam, I've never seen someone hit a bludger that hard in my life, if you don't count Fred and George Weasley that is…Jess, you've been an amazing friend ever since you joined us, and I'm glad I've had the pleasure to meet you. Apart from the fact that you can't cook worth shit…And last but not least, Kyle. I'm sorry that you have to resign, but I can't really blame you, although you're one of the best chasers we've ever had. I doubt we'll find someone meeting up to your standards."

The brown-haired man who had said nothing so far looked rather distressed, and his arm was bandaged, but he smiled at Harry. Being muggle-born, he was oddly terrified of healers, fearing that they'd mess something up with the magic, and had ended up going to a muggle doctor instead, because of his rather severe injuries at their match that evening, which had everyone bewildered, for even muggle-borns weren't that scared of Healers. Although he was persuaded by the rest of the players to allow the healers to cast a few charms on him so he would be able to join the celebration.

"To our victory, and may the Pride of Portree rot in hell!" Harry said, holding his glass out as everyone laughed, and took sips out of their glasses, and sat back down.

"Think we should order now?" Harry asked brightly, just as a very attractive waitress turned up, a small notebook in her hand and a small tag on her chest that held the name 'Diane'.

"May I take your order now, sirs? And miss?" She looked around and smiled charmingly, but turned her eyes almost instantly back on Harry, shooting him a flirtatiously look. Harry cleared his throat.

"Yes, please.."

Jess giggled a bit behind her hand and exchanged amused glances with Oliver. The orders were given to the waitress, who had the nerve to place her notebook on the table to jot down what they wanted, right in front of Harry, and bending slightly and deliberately in such a position that Harry could see down her low cut waitress dress. He swallowed, coughed and looked away, which aroused more snickers around the table.

When she finally left—winking at Harry on the way—Harry sighed in relief and slumped down, and Ron who was sitting beside him, thumped him on the back and laughed.

"She wasn't really trying to hide it, was she?"

"Of course she was Ron", Harry raised an eyebrow at Ron sarcastically, and rolled his eyes.

"But damn, she's certainly something, ain't she?" Adam Parker, their American Beater, said in a low voice and leaned forward, grinning.

Harry shrugged. "Yeah, she's something alright. A slut."

"True, true. But none of us would mind having a one-night stand with her, eh?"

"I think one of you would", said Jess scathingly and glared at her boyfriend, who like the rest of the boys, had stared at Diane. Oliver coughed and looked away. Jess huffed.

"Aww, come on, sis. It's all in good fun", Adam laughed.

Jess glared at her twin and said nothing, but rolled her eyes when Diane came back, with two large trays, placing one on a nearby table as she distributed the food around, and then turned to take it up again, and distributed that as well.

"There's still the lasagna and fruit salad. I'll be right back with it."

She came back two minutes later and when she felt this time, she slid a small piece of paper beside Harry's plate, who when she left, tossed it on the floor with a flick of his forefinger.

"Wow, pretty forward, those muggle waitresses", Kyle muttered.

"Tell me about it", Draco rolled his eyes. "I have no doubt that if given the opportunity, she would have slipped into the bloke's lap and snogged him senseless."

"At least we get some privacy here, in muggle restaurants. The reason why we've never gone to Wizarding ones after we became popular is the damn press. They follow us all around. We get sanctuary here", Harry shrugged, putting his fork in his mouth and bit the contents off.

"Thanks, Captain Obvious", Ron said good-naturedly.

"Shut it, Weasel", Harry shot back, smirking.

"Hush, you."

"Mmhmm", Harry murmured, then turned to Jess. "Hey, Jess? Know anyone who would be interested in being Chaser for us?"

Jess pondered for a bit, chewing slowly, then nodded. "Yeah, I think I do. I believe my friend was looking for someone to accept her a couple or so weeks ago, but I don't know now. I'll floo in to ask her tomorrow."

Harry nodded. "Alright. Is she anyone I know?"

"Don't think so. She was in Beauxbatons."

"What's she doing here then? They do play Quidditch in France.."

"They do, but she had to go to Beauxbatons when she was about eleven because of complications her family faced... She'd always wanted to come back to England, but couldn't. She came recently, about two or three months ago, with her best friend, who's a journalist. Her best friend is a good friend of mine, so we got introduced, and it clicked ever since. Quite an interesting character."

"I see", Harry nodded in understanding. "Well, see if she wants the position…"

"I will. Shut up for now, though, Potter. I'm eating."

Harry laughed. "Alright."

A/N – Good? Bad? Please review and tell me what you think. I accept flames too, but I might most likely ignore it, unless it provoked me greatly, and unless I'm in a bad mood, so, yeah. Thanks for taking the time to read this! ; Oh and the upcoming chapters will be longer than this. This was just a kind of introduction to the team. Bet you don't know who the new chaser is going to be, eh? Wink wink. Review? Please? I'll love you forever.

-Chris.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything except the plot and my own characters.

**A/N - **You guys are awesome! I got a great response on chapter one and I'm really grateful to all who read, and especially those who reviewed. You guys seriously rock. Every time I'd get a review alert, I'd go all ; Hehe! You guys make my day! So without further ado, chapter two!

**Chapter 2: Hermione Granger.**

_If I just breathe_

_Let it fill the space between_

_I'll know everything is alright_

_Breathe_

_Every little piece of me_

_You'll see_

_Everything is alright_

_If I just breathe_

_Michelle Branch, "Breathe"_

Hermione Granger was not a satisfied woman.

At 20, she was jobless and living in her best friend's apartment, which couldn't anger her more, as she'd always been contingent on no one. She couldn't believe her luck. She'd come all the way back from France to play professional Quidditch in England, and couldn't find a team Chaser-less. Of course, there might have been teams she hadn't checked, but she'd looked over most of the teams in England, but most of these teams lacked either Seekers, or Keepers. Why not_ Chasers_?

Hermione'd even taken to checking Quidditch teams in Scotland, but gave up quickly, as England was where she wanted to stay. She had been living in France for the past ten years, thanks to her parents. She didn't really blame them though. Her maternal grandfather was French, and when he died, he left a huge manor for them in France. Since Hermione's parents were suffering from mortgage of their house and a difficulty in their career as dentists at the time, they had no choice but to leave England and fly to France, as they had a much better state of living there. Hermione got her letter soon after, and she was admitted to Beauxbatons.

Hermione wasn't very happy about the move though. She'd always loved Britain, and the sudden thought of being plunged into a foreign country where she didn't even understand what people said, unnerved her very much. But as she adjusted to the place, she'd learned French fairly quickly, and spoke it fluently. Her English was still flawless, because she'd continued to speak it with Abby (Irish) all the time to maintain it, and her British accent was untouched as well. An accomplishment that made her proud. Not many people had the same accent once they lived in France and spoke the language. There was always that annoying nasal drawl of the words, and the quite irking elongation of vowels. Like, "theenk", instead of "think." It annoyed Hermione to no end.

Moving on, though.

She didn't have many friends in her elementary school, she was quite satisfied, as the library, in addition to Jake Willis, occupied all through the year.

She was in France, but she'd still kept contact with Jake through the mail, and the two were very close. Hermione was not one to let friends just slip like that. It had been almost ten years or so since she'd last seen him, and with all the excitement, forgot to contact him when she got there. She did though, two weeks earlier, but had received no reply, and wondered if he was out of the country, busy, or the like. She didn't dwell too much on it though, as other things seemed to occupy her pretty quickly. Like sticking her nose in newspapers or magazines to check if there was any hint of chaser tryouts anywhere. But to no avail.

The brunette was indeed getting very frustrated. Which made her best friend quite impatient with her.

"Stop sulking around Hermione. It's not the end of the world. You'll get a damn job soon."

"_When, _though?" Hermione scowled and throwing _Witch Weekly_ down on the coffee table, flopped down on the couch next to Abigail Taylor. "It's been almost two months! I'm sick of sitting around, doing nothing!"

"Hermione…" Abigail cocked an eyebrow in disbelief. "Why don't you just get a job at the Ministry or something while you're looking? It'll give you something to do."

"I don't want to work at the bloody Ministry", she snapped. "They're more disorganized than ever. I've never seen a worse Ministry of Magic."

"Well what about being a waitress or something?" Abby suggested hopefully.

"I think the pregnancy's going to your head…Shall I take you to St. Mungo's?"

Abby scowled and pulled her paperwork towards her, and pressing the tip of her eagle quill on the parchment started scribbling furiously.

"I'm—" Hermione started to say apologetically, but something—or someone—was suddenly thrown face down at their feet from the fireplace. Both Abby and Hermione blinked. A feminine groan sounded from the figure and the blonde turned over.

"Jess", Abby smirked. "What a pleasant surprise."

"Pleasant my ass", Jessica Parker stood up and dusted her jeans off. "If only you'd take those damn wards off, Abby…"

"Nope. My Anti-Apparition wards aren't going anywhere", Abby laughed. "Besides, it's fun seeing you get thrown into our living room every single time you floo in."

"Yeah, funny." Jess rolled her eyes and then sat, cracking a grin at Hermione, who hadn't said anything so far. "How are you, Hermione?"

"Jobless", Hermione replied flatly, and Jess chuckled. She got the same response every single time she visited.

"Sucks, doesn't it?" She smiled mischievously, and Hermione looked suspicious.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like you've got something up your sleeve, Parker."

"No, I don't. Were you at the match last night?"

"Nope, couldn't get hold of tickets. Heard you won, though. That's great."

"Yup. You didn't hear what happened, though?"

Hermione's brows creased. "No, what?"

"Know Kyle? Kyle Travis?"

"He's your chaser, isn't he?"

"Yeah."

"What about him?"

"Well..." Jess said, the grin broadening. "He was injured."

"Yes, and?" Hermione said impatiently.

"He resigned."

"I don't ca—What?" Hermione blinked, her mouth dropping. "He what?"

"He resigned", Jess looked at her nails trying to appear nonchalant and stood up, walking to the fireplace again. "Oh but I didn't think you wanted the job…So I'll just be going now to tell Harry—"

"You…You want me instead of him?" Hermione said, dazed, while Abby laughed.

"Yeah, but I knew you'd say no, anyway…" Jess fought to keep her face straight while she grabbed some floo power. "So I'm outta here."

"You go anywhere and I'll hex you into the next century!" Hermione jumped to her feet, as if snapping out of a trance. "When do I join?"

Jess laughed. "Harry's going to interview you tomorrow morning, 9 AM sharp. Tryouts after that."

"Oh my god!" Hermione exclaimed and hugged Jess, almost knocking her backwards. "How can I EVER thank you?"

"Let me breathe", Jess gasped out, and Hermione released her, smiling sheepishly.

"Sorry." She said, although she didn't seem sorry at all.

Jess shook her head and snorted. "I get you a job and you almost kill me. How original", she teased, then went and embraced Abby.

"Thank Merlin you did", Abby said with a teasing look toward Hermione. "I don't think I could've taken her whining much longer."

"I'm not that bad," Hermione muttered.

"Yes you are", the other two girls said in unison, and Hermione rolled her eyes, but she was smiling.

"Okay, I have to go now", Jess said glancing at her watch, and picked up some floo powder again, that was knocked out her hand when Hermione had hugged her. "Thought I'd pop in before practice. Bye guys! Harry Potter's Office!" And she was gone in a rush of violet green flames.

"You're going to work with Harry Potter." Abby smirked as she sat back down. "The most sought after bachelor in the wizarding world, Herms."

"Don't call me that. And so what if I am? Besides, I might even not be accepted…"

"You will. You're just too good. If he doesn't accept you then the guy's plain not right in the head."

"I hope so", she said dreamily. "I can't believe I'm finally going to play professional Quidditch.."

"I think I'm even happier than you."

"Shut up, Abby", Hermione smiled and leaned back, her fingers laced behind her head.

Abby chuckled and put a hand over her slightly swollen stomach, moving it around in small circles, sighing wistfully. Hermione sighed happily after a few long moments, but then her brows furrowed when she looked at her friend.

"Abby talk to me…He said no, didn't he. That's why you came back here. So you don't see him again."

"No, I—"

"I'm sick of you lying to me. I've been ignoring it but I'm not going to anymore. What happened, Abby? What did Anthony tell you? I know he said he couldn't stand by you when you give birth, but why? Why'd he do it? I thought he loved you."

Abby sighed, then clasped her hands, looking down. "That it was all a mistake and shouldn't have happened, Hermione…He told me that", Abby said in a small voice and looked up at her friend, her eyes shining with unshed tears, while Hermione gazed back, stunned. That bastard!

"He said his parents already had someone in store for him, and he'll have to marry her. I loved him, Hermione, I—" She couldn't go on anymore and started sobbing into her hands.

Hermione stared at her friend, her face fallen and her heart going out to Abby. She hugged her gently and stroked her hair, murmuring soothing nonsense into her ear while she cried her heart out.

"If I knew this before, I would've gone to him and kicked his ass so hard he wouldn't be able to sit for as long as he lived. I would've ripped that hair of his off his scalp and fed it to him! I thought he had a good reason for this!" She said furiously when Abby calmed down. Abby let out a shaky laugh at her best friend's words.

"He's been playing me all along. And I fell for it..."

Hermione sighed. "He's not worth it, Abby…He was never worth it. I always knew there was something funny about him, but couldn't place a finger on it. Stupid heartless asshole…"

"It's okay", Abby straightened and wiped at her cheeks, looking determined now, and placed a hand once again on her belly. "I'll raise this child alone. I won't let it feel the absence of its father, Hermione...Maybe, just maybe, if Anthony wants this child, I won't let him near it. He can be damned to hell."

Hermione smiled. "You won't be alone, Abby. Jess and I are here for you. And you will find someone who truly loves you, I promise."

"I doubt it", Abby murmured.

"I don't, though. And you'll see. There's someone out there for you."

The other brown-haired woman shrugged, and Hermione put a hand on her shoulder.

"Whatever happens, I'm here for you, Abby. You can count on me."

Abby smiled. "Thanks, Hermione."

**Preview on chapter 3:**

"**I'm Harry Potter."**

**She cracked a grin. "I know."**

**--**

"**Harry", he corrected, pulling back. "No one calls me Mr. Potter here, and you are no exception."**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** So sorry for the long wait, but I put up an extra long chapter for you guys, and I hope it's worth it. I'm having exams in a couple of weeks, so it might be a while before I'll update soon. Just a warning though, I might have to pause this story so I could finish all of it, then start posting regularly. Also, I got my internet taken away and shit, so.. Aaand, one more thing. I dun have a beta, so excuse the grammatical and other mistakes.

**Disclaimer:** Things you don't recognize from the books is mine. The rest belongs to JKR.

**Chapter 3:** Potter Meets Granger

Hermione pulled on her new pressed navy blue robes, smoothening it down her chest as she surveyed herself in the full length mirror. The robes were plain, but they had this air about them that made the person wearing it look professional. Which was exactly the impression Hermione wanted to make on her first day. Working with Harry Potter meant no nonsense.

She walked over to the dresser and sat down, grabbing her make-up kit. She applied mascara and lip-gloss carefully, and smacked her lips in satisfaction. Good enough. Don't want him thinking she was a tramp…But Hermione didn't apply loads of make-up anyway.

She twirled a lock of her brown hair around a finger and watched as her expression frowned, contemplating what to do with her hair. She was actually pretty pleased with its appearance now. Back when she was in school, she barely had time for herself; she was that focused in her studies. Her hair was rather bushy and she didn't care about it, or her appearance. But now that she graduated, she had a lot of time on her hands, and Abby insisted making her over. She'd obtained a whole new look, and liked the way she looked now as opposed to before, and took more care of herself.

Hermione's hair used to be a 'halo of bushes', as Abby liked to call it. But now, rich healthy brown tendrils flowed down her back, a huge difference from her previous flyaway hair. She was finally able to tame it, and liked the way it looked now. She was actually able to do something with it now, without using tons of muggle hair spray and Sleakeazy's Hair Potion. She definitely looked better this way.

Finally deciding for a high ponytail, the brunette grabbed a small black elastic to tie her hair back with. She smiled at the way the hair flowing out bounced slightly, curling slightly at the ends. She pulled out a few strands to soften the sides of her face turning her head a bit to the side and looking at her reflection skeptically. Satisfied, she stood and walked over to the bed, retrieving her trainers from under it. She put them on quickly, and just as she finished tying the laces securely in place, she heard the doorbell ring. She hurried to answer.

"He-", Hermione smiled brightly as she swung the door open, smiling brightly, but then frowned. The person at the door most definitely wasn't Jess. It looked a whole lot like her, thought. There was a rather uncanny resemblance, really. Same dirty blonde hair (although spiked up), same twinkling warm brown eyes, except those silver wire framed glasses…Then the realization struck her. It was her twin, of course. How stupid. She'd watched the Silver Arrows play before, and she saw Adam there too. Weird how she didn't recognize him right away.

"Adam Kyle." He said smoothly, sticking his hand out for her to shake. He flashed a grin at her, looking at her intently.

"Hermione Granger," she smiled, shaking his hand. Something about his gaze made her feel a little uneasy but she brushed it off.

"Charmed", he smiled flashing a single dimple in his right cheek. Her cheeks pinked slightly; he was very appealing.

She stepped back and motioned for him to come in. "Come in. I'll just go get my broom."

"Nah", he waved a hand. "I'll wait here."

"You sure?" Hermione frowned. "You don't have—"

"Sure, I'm sure. Go on."

"Alright." Hermione shrugged and made her way back to the bedroom, quickly rummaging under the bed for her ever-faithful Nimbus.

Grabbing it, she almost forgot her wand lying on her dresser, and cursing herself, went to retrieve it, and then pocketed it.

"Okay", she smiled as she joined Adam again and closed the door behind her, locking it. Abby had already left for work, and wouldn't be back till evening.

When she turned back to Adam, he had a pen in his hand.

"Portkey activates in ten seconds", he said, holding it out.

Hermione obediently took hold of the Portkey, and as soon as the ten seconds were up, Abby's apartment door disappeared and she felt that familiar tug in her navel, that feeling of being pulled down onto the floor. Hermione had traveled a fair few times by Portkey, but never got used to it, and always ended up lying flat on her face. Somehow, that thought didn't seem very appealing now (not that it ever did), especially since she was with Adam Parker.

When Hermione saw a stadium coming into view, she began to panic, starting to fall face down and unable to stop. So she just closed her eyes and held her arms out to at least try and break the fall but felt strong arms wrap around her instead. She blinked her eyes open, and saw a grinning face looming over her hers.

"All right, there?"

"Uh…yeah." She bit her lip, still staring upwards.

"Haven't traveled by Portkey before, have you?"

"I have…just never got used to it", she replied, her cheeks now crimson as she pulled away, feeling terribly embarrassed. "Thanks, Adam…"

"No problem", replied the young man brightly, not seeming even the slightest bit fazed over the fact that he had had a total stranger in his arms just two seconds ago.

Hermione cleared her throat and straightened her robes once more, and then looked up, for the first time seeing the pitch properly. Her eyes widened. The Silver Arrows' practice pitch was a beautiful shade of silver and dark blue—the team's colors—glinting brilliantly in the sunlight.

"So, I take it you like our pitch?" Adam's voice came from beside her.

Hermione nodded, smiling. "It's magnificent."

"I'm glad you think so…Harry has good taste." He smirked, and then turned to look at her. "Well…let's get you to his office then. He must be wondering where the hell I took you off too." He motioned for her and started walking toward the other side of the stadium and went into a sort of built in space, where a desk and chair had been placed, with a few parchments scattered about on it and two telephones (which Hermione thought was weird, since this was a wizarding area), and a lush sofa along with two armchairs against the wall on the other side of the room. Upon further inspection she saw there was an oak door at the back too, with a star on it, standing ajar.

"Sarah?" Adam called, and then shrugging, walked over to the official looking door and pushed it open Hermione bit her lip and followed, although politely stood just outside. A female voice was speaking.

"Are you sure, Harry? He said he wants to—"

"I'm sure, Sarah", replied a weary voice. "Tell him I'm busy. Ah, Adam. She's here?"

"Yeah." A pause, and Adam poked his head outside, just as the woman named Sarah came out, offering a smile as she made her way to her desk. "What are you doing out here? Come on in." He raised an eyebrow.

"I-I just thought—" Hermione stammered, feeling the knots in her stomach tighten with her nervousness.

"Yeah, whatever." He held the door open and motioned for her to go in. "He'll see you now."

Hermione forced a small smile. "Thanks, Adam."

"Hey, no problem", he winked. "Don't worry, he doesn't bite…not too hard anyway." He pushed against her shoulder gently so she'd go in, and closed the door behind her, leaving her alone with the captain of the Silver Arrows.

Hermione blew out a shaky breath as soon as Adam closed the door and looked toward the desk where Harry Potter sat, frowning and scuffling through some papers, raven hair as messy as ever and emerald eyes behind rectangular wire-framed glasses darting here and there on his desk amongst the sea of parchment. Then shaking his head slightly, he looked up, pushing his glasses up.

"Well, hello", he smiled and stood up, going around the desk and moving over to her, shaking her hand. "Hermione Granger, I presume?" She nodded and smiled, looking up at him, awed by the difference in their height, although it didn't show in her features. He had to be a 6'1, in contrast to her 5'7.

"I'm Harry Potter."

She cracked a grin. "I know."

"Of course." He laughed and shook his head, releasing her hand and motioned toward one of the chairs in front of his desk. "Please, have a seat." Hermione obediently went over and sat down just as he did, and placing her hands in her lap primly after leaning her broom against her chair, looked at him expectantly.

"I'm sorry for all this mess", he smiled, waving at the parchment on his desk. Hermione shook her head, smiling back. "Not at all."

"Well!" He leaned back in his chair and laced his fingers beneath his chest, pausing for a second as if examining her. "May I ask how old you are?"

"I'm 20."

"Ah…Well, I just really wanted to try you out…I'm not much for interviews." Harry shrugged, leaning forward, his elbows propped up on his thighs. "Ready to hit the pitch?"

Hermione nodded, although inside, she felt the knots in her stomach tighten. _Oh Merlin. What if I messed up?_

"All right, then", he smiled approvingly and stood up, and Hermine followed suit, clutching her broom in her hand. "Ah, you got your broom. That's good." He continued, and retrieved his own broom that had been placed behind his desk, against the wall.

Hermione followed Harry as he made his way to the door and stepped out as he held the door open for her.

They went past who Hermione thought obviously was Harry's secretary, and instead of making their way straight to the pitch, Harry turned and taking out a key from his pocket, inserted it into a hole in the wall. Instantly, a wooden door appeared. Hermione's eyes widened as she went in after Harry, her chocolate brown eyes trying to take in everything around as he switched on the lights.

On one side of the triangular room, there were three long shelves. The first held still red quaffles, her area of expertise. The second was more interesting…Bludgers. Bludgers held by chains against the walls, twitching slightly every now and then. The third shelf held a rather long buzzing cage, in which you could detect a mass of Golden Snitches.

The side of the room where the door was placed, there were long packages—roughly about ten—leaning against the wall on either side. Hermione had never seen that number of brooms together in her life. Well, not brand new ones anyway. The third side of the room held about seven boxes and a couple of crates for the balls, along with shelves above the boxes, one of them holding more brooms, although used. The rest held Quidditch equipment, which Hermione itched to at least run her fingers over.

Hermione stared at the boxes quizzically as Harry stepped further in and grabbed a Quaffle from the shelf, bouncing it slightly in his hand.

"Nice place you got here." Hermione said, smiling in awe as she looked around.

"Thanks…those are the player's extra Quidditch robes and equipment", he pointed toward the boxes under the shelves, having clearly spotted the quizzical look she'd shot them. "If you're wondering."

She nodded, flushing slightly at her own curiosity and stepped back and out, allowing Harry to lock the room again. She was impressed…It was so original.

"Alright." he muttered as if to himself, and mounting his broom, kicked off, zooming to the middle of the place in mid-air. Hermione was quick at his heels though and started slowing down a bit when she saw him hover where he was, with his back to her. However, Harry whipped around fast and threw the Quaffle hard at her. Not the slightest bit fazed, Hermione caught it deftly, and tucked it under her arm, halting several feet away from him. She threw the Quaffle back at him with as much force, and for a while, Harry kept trying to catch her off-guard, throwing the Quaffle this way and that, but Hermione caught every single one, and couldn't help the small smirk on her face as she threw the ball back at him every time.

Harry wasn't showing any sign that he was impressed though, and kept working her hard, for about two hours.

"Alright", he said, and pointed to the far end of the pitch as he started to maneuver his broom to the opposite side, tossing the Quaffle at her. "I want you to go out there and show me what you got. I'll be Keeping."

Hermione pursed her lips and nodded, zooming toward the other side, and took a deep breath as she turned to face him, yards away. Determinedly crouching low on her broom, she gained speed, zigzagging through imaginary players with the Quaffle clutched tightly under her arm. At one point, she even made a back flip in mid air, and played the Slot-Grip Roll, and a few other tricky moves. She narrowed her eyes as she neared the hoops, with Harry defending and made as if to aim toward the right hoop. Harry clearly thought she was trying to trick him into defending that hoop and leave the rest, so he made to defend the left and middle, and before he knew it, Hermione had scored.

Before Hermione had the chance to be proud of herself, there was applause. Puzzled, she turned to look at where the sound was coming from, and saw about five people on their feet on one side of the bleachers, clapping enthusiastically. Hermione grinned and looked at Harry, to see him smiling as well.

"Come on", he motioned and flew up to the stand, with Hermione in tow. As they got closer, Hermione noticed Adam amongst them and blushed as he winked at her again.

Harry and Hermione dismounted, and Harry started the introductions.

"Hermione, this is Ron Weasley, Oliver Wood, and the blonde right there is Draco Malfoy"—the three shook hands with Hermione—"And you know Adam and Jess, of course. Guys, meet our new Chaser, Hermione Granger."

Hermione looked at him in astonishment. "I am?"

"You are", he grinned, and grasped her hand firmly. "Welcome to the team."

"Well, this is our humble home", Harry smiled.

"Humble?" Hermione asked in disbelief, her eyes almost popping out of their sockets as she eyed the mansion.

The rest of them laughed.

"I know, right? Our Harry is modest to no end." Jess shook her head. "We'll leave it up to you to give her a tour, Potter."

And they filed into the house, waving.

"Well, come on", Harry motioned for Hermione to follow him, and took her around the back of the house. There was a huge swimming pool, along with a nice big backyard.

As Harry led her to the door at the back of the house, which obviously led to the basement and switched on the lights, Hermione gasped. It was a fully equipped _muggle _gym with everything from treadmills to weight lifters. The gym was in the middle of the basement, although quite large, and on either side, there were partitions. One side had showers, saunas, hot tubs you name it. The other had billiards, carom-boards, poker-tables, board games, like Monopoly and Scrabble. Hermione thought it was amazing.

But she didn't see the house itself yet.

As they walked through the front door, just across, Hermione could see a billboard stuck with parchment with notes and stuff. There were a few she was highly amused with.

**HOUSE RULES!**

_1. About the first-floor toilet: Ladies, if you want us to put the toilet seat down after we finish, then you better put it back up when YOU'RE done. –Adam._

_2. Clean up after yourself. No one is responsible for the mess YOU make, except yourself. Especially stuff like laundry. If you know what I mean. -Jess._

_3. No one touch my Chudley Cannons mug. NO ONE. If you were found doing it, you will die a slow painful death. However if no one saw you and you fessed up to it later, I guess I'll bloody well just make yoar death quick and painless. And yes, I'm still a fan. Oh and no ferrets allowed. –snicker.- One is more than enough, right Ferret Boy? –Ron._

_4. Kindly make use of Silencing Charms when any of you, er…bring someone home. PLEASE. We all need our beauty sleep. –Oliver._

_5. Absolutely no mudblo—Ow. –scowl.- Can't take a joke, Weasel? Potter, why are weasels allowed on the team? You Gryffindorks are so freakin' nice. –Draco._

_6. I agree with Oliver, although he and Jess sometimes forget the Silencing Charm. Hem. Also, we don't need hordes of babies running all over the house, either so…you know. Ugh, what the hell. And don't be late for practice either. Or you get to do extra push-ups. 'Kay? 'Kay. –Harry._

_7._

She laughed, glancing at Harry, who was grinning. "Yeah, we're messed up people", he said, laughing.

"I can see that", she teased, then tilted her head at the parchment. "Ferret Boy?"

"Yeah, this teacher once turned Draco into a ferret back in school", he explained, snorting. "Ron claims it was the best moment of his life. We used to hate Draco. But we're friends now."

"Oh, okay", she laughed, her eyes scanning the rest of the clippings.

Practice time:

**Weekdays:** 8.30 AM—12 PM

4 PM—6 PM

**Saturday:** 10 AM—12 PM

-Harry.

Turns for dishwashing are as follows:

**Monday:** Harry (since you're the boss and all, pal.) **Tuesday:** Jess. **Wednesday:** Ollie. **Thursday:** Hermione (Welcome! Haha.) **Friday:** Me. **Saturday:** Adam. **Sunday:** Drum roll, please. It's Ferret Boy!

-Ron.

"Well that was fast", she said eyeing her name there.

"Looks like he put in your name the moment e walked in the door." Harry shook his head.

The ground floor consisted of the lobby, a large kitchen, a dining room next to it, a toilet, and a home entertainment system room thingy. Hermione wished right then she had ten eyes. There were rows and rows of DVD's, a large screen TV, camcorders, computers…it even had a bloody popcorn and soft-drink machine. And to think she was actually being paid for all this.

Hermione gulped as she was led upstairs to the bedrooms, not knowing now what to expect.

There were seven bedrooms (there was seven everythingreally. Almost. Hermione couldn't help but think of The Seven Dwarves). Harry took Hermione right to hers, which she knew was the one the former chaser occupied. Harry opened the door, and handed her the key.

"It's pretty plain right now, but I'm sure you can apply some of your touches", he smiled and waved a hand as she stepped in. It was quite big. A queen-sized four-poster bed, dresser, closet, full-length mirror, a desk and chair. The wallpaper and bed-sheets were white, but that could easily be fixed.

Hermione opened the door leading to the bathroom and stuck her head in.

"Well?" Harry asked.

She smiled. "It's perfect."

"I sincerely hope you'll feel comfortable here", he said, and Hermione almost giggled at the formality. "Oh and about your luggage…You'll go pack right? And then you can just contact me, and I'll send someone to bring it over or something."

"Oh no. Shrinking spells come quite handy. I'll be fine, thank you."

"Great", he grinned, and Hermione thought she saw an impressed glint in his eyes as he leaned against the doorframe. "Well, stay for lunch. And you can go back tomorrow to get your stuff. If you want to, that is."

Hermione looked doubtful. "But I need to shower…and I have no clothes."

"Oh. Right", he looked sheepish. "You can borrow some from Jess, but I understand if you're more comfortable…you know." He shrugged.

Hermione nodded. "I'll be back tomorrow."

"You won't stay for lunch?"

"Thank you", she declined politely, smiling. "Thanks for everything…" She suddenly didn't know what she was supposed to call him, but after a pause continued, "Mr. Potter."

Harry laughed and hugged her, ignoring her out-stretched hand. Hermione blinked and hugged him back reluctantly. "Harry", he corrected, pulling back. "No one calls me Mr. Potter here, and you are no exception."

She laughed. "Okay. Harry."

"See you tomorrow", he smiled and left.

"Bye", she countered, Disapparating.

**Word count: 3418**

**Pages: 8**

**R&R!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N – **Double update. Worth it?

**Chapter 4: Moving In**

_You can't judge the love by the lover _

_The sky by its thunder _

_The road with no sign _

_You can't make the snow fall in summer _

_Or make him not want her _

_And not leave you behind _

_Maybe he'll stay in touch years down the road _

_And hope that he's still on your mind_

_The sun may come up and go down again _

_I'll still swear it's a beautiful life_

_Charlotte Martin, "Beautiful Life"_

"I got the job." Hermione called out, grinning as she closed the door behind her.

"Praise the Lord." Abby drawled from the couch, flicking through channels. Hermione failed to come up with a decent glare, and laughed instead, plopping down beside her best friend.

"It's great, isn't it?" She sighed in bliss, closing her eyes.

"Yep. How's Potter? As hot face-to-face as he is in Witch Weekly?" Abby smirked, finally turning her attention to Hermione. The brunette laughed.

"Oh, you bet. And the house…Oh, sweet Merlin, the house. I've never seen a house so posh." Hermione gushed. "This huge pool, saunas, hot tubs…Abby, there's this whole big section downstairs that's fully equipped with muggle technology…everything from flat-screens and computers, to DVD's and popcorn machines! It's truly amazing."

"Awesome." Abby looked intrigued. "Well, Potter's loaded, so…"

"Oh, yes." She nodded. "He is. I can't even begin to describe the house to you." She shook her head. "And my room is huuuuge. I love the place."

"Enough about the house, already. Did you meet the players? Ron Weasley? I want to meet him."

Hermione shook her head. "How typical, Abby. I see your redhead fetish is kicking into action."

"I'm serious, woman."

"Mmkay. I'll introduce you guys some time…" She shrugged.

"Good girl. Did you have lunch? I made some spaghetti."

"Well, Harry invited me, but I said no. I have to pack up and stuff."

"Yeah…" Abby frowned.

Hermione bit her lip. "I know it'll be weird and all, us not seeing each other all the time…but I'll come around every other weekend, promise. And you can visit too."

Abby nodded and shrugged. "I guess so. We'll cope."

Hermione smiled and leaned over to hug her best friend.

"I don't know what I'd do without you", Hermione smiled.

"Me neither, as much as I hate to admit it." Abby tried to keep a straight face, and Hermione hit her arm playfully, grinning. Abby stuck her tongue out rather maturely.

"I'm going to eat", Hermione shook her head, disappearing into the kitchen.

"Ron, enough. You've wiped off half of the potatoes yourself!" Jess exclaimed, holding her arm out for the bowl.

"I'm a growing boy!" the redhead replied defensively, dumping another spoonful onto his plate before handing the bowl over.

Harry snorted. "You've been saying that since first year, Ron."

"Sod off", Ron muttered, starting to stuff his face.

Oliver looked up. "So when's Herm—er…"

"Hermione", Harry prompted.

"Hermione", Oliver repeated sheepishly. "When's she moving in?"

"Tomorrow."

"Need me to make arrangements to pick her stuff up?"

"No, actually," Harry replied. "She said she'll just use a Shrinking Spell or two."

Oliver raised his eyebrows. "She sounds pretty smart."

"She is," Jess chimed in proudly. "She graduated at the top of her class from Beauxbatons."

Adam looked impressed. "No wonder…Pass the curry, sis."

"You know, at first I thought she was no good", Harry admitted. "But damn, did she show me up."

Jess grinned. "I know. She strikes most people as this bookworm who always has her head buried in some book. But she knows how to go out and have fun. She does now, anyway. Abby tells me she used to be such a tight-ass back in school."

"Yeah…" Harry said thoughtfully. "And you know what the best thing is?"

"Hmm?"

"She didn't even glance at my scar."

"Why do you have to take ALL your books? You've read them a hundred times already!"

Hermione shrugged, taping up the last box. She plopped down on the bed next to Abby, wiping her forehead.

"You have so much stuff, 'Mione…"

"I know", Hermione shook her head. "Eleven boxes."

"Mostly books", Abby said pointedly.

"Give it a rest, already", Hermione groaned, lying back on the bed. "I'm so tired…"

"Mmhmm."

"Thanks for helping me out today, Abbs."

"You would've done the same for me."

"Of course. I think I'll go take a shower. Then have a kip."

"You do that", Abby stood up. "And I still think you should forget about the shrinking spell and just have someone pick all this up. You'll probably lose something."

"I'll be fine. I'll put them in a handbag and get it over with. I don't want all the fuss."

"All right, then." Abby lifted her wrist up and had a look at her wrist-watch. "I'm running late. I'll see you soon, hopefully."

"Yes", Hermione replied as they hugged. Abby Disapparated, and Hermione buckled down to setting the Shrinking charms.

Two hours later, she showed up at the Silver Arrows' door, and rang the doorbell, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

The door swung open, and Jess's grinning face appeared, before she was engulfed in a big hug.

"Hermione!" Jess smiled, letting the other woman in. "Come on in."

"Thanks", Hermione replied as they went upstairs, to her new room.

"You're actually moving in!" Jess grinned. "I won't be the only female here now. You'll be sharing my misery."

Hermione laughed. "It can't be that bad."

"Well, it's fun a lot of the time." Jess admitted. "But it's hard living with six males day in and day out."

"True", Hermione conceded, arranging the miniscule boxes from her handbag on the floor, and undid the Shrinking spells. "So I don't expect the 'house rules' are actually played out?"

"As if", Jess scoffed. "Not even one of them. Well maybe the Silencing charms one, and most of the time, the 'be on time for practice' one…And you still have to add yours. The seventh place is blank."

"I noticed. I will after I think of something."

"The boys are downstairs watching a movie; they won't be out for an hour or so…We could get started on this", she waved a hand at all the boxes. "Damn, girl. That's a lot of stuff."

"I know", Hermione said sheepishly.

They started to put Hermione's things away; clothes in the closet, and _some_ of the books stacked in shelves.

"Crikey! You have enough books to rival our library downstairs, Hermione", Harry announced his presence from the doorway.

"And that's saying something", Oliver said, over Harry's shoulder, shaking his head.

Hermione blushed. "I read a lot."

"We can tell," Jess said dryly. "Hermione, get away from there."

"What?" Hermione looked at her in confusion from where she was placing her clothes into the closet.

"Move", she said impatiently, and Hermione obliged, still confused. Jess waved her wand, and clothes flew out of the suitcases and stacked themselves neatly into the closet. "There."

Hermione shook her head, although grinned. "I just like to be more practical."

"It's easier this way", Jess said smugly, replacing her wand into her pocket.

"Good work, sweetheart", Oliver winked at her, then dragged Harry off. "We'll go out somewhere to keep out of your hair", he called out.

"Hmm…" Hermione pulled out her wand, looking at the plain surroundings speculatively. She muttered a few spells, and Jess watched as the bed sheets turned into a light blue, the curtains that hung around the bed a dark blue.

"Definitely", Jess agreed, fingering the window curtains, a silver-ish blue, that went marvelously with the dark blue carpet. "Very nice."

"Thanks. I'm really going to enjoy living here." Hermione smiled, Vanishing the empty boxes.

"You will! We're the only team in Britain who actually live together."

"Really? I wasn't aware of that."

"We are. I think it helps our relationships; we stick together more."

Hermione nodded. "Helps the team-work."

"Yep. So how do you like Harry?"

"He's a good bloke." Hermione smiled. "He was quite the opposite of what I thought, really."

"Oh?" Jess said interestedly. "What did you think he'd be like?"

Hermione made a face. "Well…I thought he would be like those rich stuck-up guys who just like showing off their money."

Jess laughed. "Well, maybe it's fair enough. He thought you'd be one of those girls who are going to freak over meeting him. It makes him sick."

Hermione snorted. "Hardly. But to tell you the truth, I was a bit nervous."

"I expect so. He was pleased you didn't even notice his scar, and actually treated him like a normal person."

"I thought he'd get uncomfortable", Hermione nodded. "I bet he gets it all the time."

"He does. It tires _me _out. And you know…"

"What?" Hermione raised an eyebrow at Jess's smirk.

"I think he likes you."

"Not bloody likely", Hermione rolled her eyes. "Harry Potter, like _me?_"

"What's there not to like?"

"Oh come on, Jess. He's…well, he's Harry Potter."

"So what?"

Hermione shrugged. "It's not possible. You just _think _he does. Come on, I'm hungry." She stood up, trying to avoid the subject.

_Harry Potter, like Hermione Granger? That'll be the day._

**Word Count: 1593**

**Pages: 5**

**R&R!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Journalists, Healers, and Pros.**

The Quibbler head office was a very busy place, especially now that Luna Lovegood ran the magazine after her father died two years ago. Since then, the magazine had gained popularity, due to the fact that most of the so-thought ridiculous assumptions about a few creatures mentioned in the Quibbler were proven true. Luna had been particularly pleased about this, since everyone had thought her crazy back in school, but now here she sat, running one of the most popular magazines in the Wizarding World. True, she'd always had her head in the clouds, but that didn't mean she had no emotions. She'd always brushed peoples' thoughts off, thinking they'd never meant any harm, that it was her own fault. She was usually dreamy and smiling, but now, always serious when the occasion required her to be. One of these occasions was now, as she tried to sort out what she was doing.

The shiny metal plate, stating 'Luna Lovegood, Editor', that stood proudly on her work-desk, now was out of sight, under a mountain of official papers, articles, magazines, scrolls of parchment and other things. And Luna was a mess, not knowing where to start. This was what happened when you get the Wizard Flu when you have so much work at hand.

An abrupt knock sounded on the oak, and the blonde sitting behind the mass, looked up in annoyance.

"Come in." She sighed and pulled off her reading glasses, rubbing her eyes as Abby stepped in, her hands holding more papers. The seated woman groaned. "What now?"

"Sorry, Luna," Abby said breathlessly. "I know you're busy, but Arnold Smith was wondering about that—"

"Yes, yes," Luna said impatiently. "His article hardly makes any sense…" She pulled out a drawer in her desk and rummaged for a bit, before pulling out a large envelope. "Here, resend it, with a polite rejection letter. Just a minute." She said when Abby began to leave, and handed her a few scrolls of parchment. "I need these typed up. And those are for you; I have loads more to edit, so it'll be a big help…"

"Right," Abby nodded, and her eyes scanned Luna's desk. "Maybe it'll be easier if you stack those neatly first, then go through them, Luna."

Luna looked doubtfully at her desk before covering her mouth and sneezing, and then grabbed a tissue. "Sorry."

"You're still sick," Abby observed.

"I had to cut the sick-leave short…Look at how behind I am." Luna waved a hand at the mountain in front of her, and began arrange various articles, parchment and paper to one side so she can concentrate on what she's working on, just like Abby suggested.

Abby shook her head and edged toward the door. "Well…I'll be going. I don't want to catch your germs," she said playfully, and with a small wave, closed the door behind her as Luna nodded absent-mindedly, reading through a scroll.

Abby dropped several of the scrolls at her own desk, and then crossed the room to her colleague.

"Hey, Ginny," she greeted the red-head, who was busily typing away on her computer.

"Abby," she glanced up briefly, to see the papers in Abby's hand. "Put them over there for me will you? Thanks."

"No problem," she turned to leave.

"Hey, listen," Ginny called her back, turning her attention from her typing to the other woman. "My brother and the rest of the team are going to some club this weekend, and they invited me. They said I could bring along some friends…would you be interested? I'm going to drag Luna along too. She's working twenty-four seven."

Abby's eyes lightened up. "Yes, count me in. It would give me an excuse to see Hermione; I haven't seen her in a while. And an opportunity to meet your brother, of course." She smirked.

"Of course," Ginny laughed. "You're more interested in my brother than in Harry Potter."

Abby grinned, and replied, simply, "He's a redhead."

"Here, press it to the wound, alright? I'll be right back." The brunette said as patiently as she could, and left the man on the bed grumbling about stupid female healers and whatnot. She sighed softly as she closed the door behind her, and hurried down the stairs.

"Is Healer Finnigan here yet?" She asked the witch at the front desk, who was busy filing reports.

She totally ignored her, and the Healer started to try again before she heard a weary voice behind her.

"Don't bother. I'm here."

She rounded on him, frowning. "It's about time, too, Seamus. Your patient has been asking for you, and I have my own things to do."

"I know, I know. I'm sorry." He sighed as he pulled his white coat on and pulled her aside from the throng of people.

"What happened?"

Seamus cleared his throat slightly, and looked slightly sheepish as he shrugged. "I overslept."

"Excuse me?" She raised an eyebrow. "Your patient—"

"I know, Jules. Come on, I don't let it happen too often. And you're not my boss," he teased.

"I know, but _I _was forced to leave _my _patient and attend to yours."

"I'm _sorry_," Seamus repeated. "I'll make it up to you."

Julie folded her arms over her chest and tilted her head. "How?"

"I'll buy you lunch today?"

"You better," Julie shook her head and pushed him toward the stairs.

"You're so pushy," he said playfully as they entered their shared office.

"You're always late," she retorted, checking their mail. "Here." She handed him a few letters, and he looked through them, his eyebrows rising in surprise.

"Merlin, I haven't heard from the bastards in so long."

"Who?" Julie asked absently, ripping open an envelope.

"The Silver Arrows."

She looked up at him blankly. "I repeat—who?"

"They're a Quidditch team," he said in disbelief.

"Right," she said uninterestedly, grabbing a clip-board. "I'll just go check up on Roberts."

He nodded as she left the office a grin adorning his face as he read the letter.

_Seamus—_

_How've you been, mate? Sorry I haven't been in touch, been busy this past year. Things are pretty ace here, we got a new Chaser, did you hear? Anyway, we were going clubbing Saturday, come along if you have nothing better to do. You do remember where Escape is, right? We'll see you there, say about 8._

_Hope you're good._

_Harry._

"Come on, Hermione. Get up," Jess poked her head in and saw Hermione sprawled on the couch, a bowl of popcorn on her stomach, watching a movie.

"Why?" She asked, not taking her eyes of the screen. "I'm really comfortable."

"I can see that. But now's not the time. We're going clubbing and we have to look sexy!"

"Oh okay," Hermione sat up, then froze. "Pardon me?"

"We have to look sexy?"

"No, the part before that," Hermione narrowed her eyes at her friend.

"We're going clubbing," Jess smiled sweetly. "Oh, damn, we forgot to tell you!"

"I'm sure it slipped your mind," Hermione said disdainfully, and plopped back down. "I'm not going."

"Oh, yes you are," Jess said in her no-nonsense voice, and pulled her up. "Come on, it'll be fun."

"It's not my type of thing, Jess."

"I know it's not, but, come on. We're all going! If you don't like it, you can Apparate back."

Hermione sighed and stood up. "Fine, alright. But just this once."

Jess grinned and practically dragged her off to her room, and threw open her closet, standing in front of it with her hands over her hips. "Do you have anything suitable for clubbing?"

"I'm not sure…" Hermione shrugged. "I'll just wear jeans."

Jess scowled at her. "Yeah, over my dead body. Wait here."

"I'm not going anywhere," Hermione grumbled as Jess left the room, and came back with an assortment of clothes, and dumped them on Hermione's bed. She scrunched up her mouth in thought then picked a black dress and handed it to her.

"Try it on."

Hermione held the thing up and stared at it. "I am so not wearing this."

"It's not that bad. Just go try it on."

And so, she did.

"You look amazing!" Jess exclaimed when Hermione came out of the bathroom, looking extremely self-conscious.

"Jess, I don't know…" She frowned, allowing Jess to zip her up.

"_I _do," the blonde declared, grabbing her by the shoulders and bringing her around to stand in front of the full-length mirror. Hermione ran her hands down the material and stared at her reflection. The dress clung in all the right places, and made Hermione feel very womanly. It was a simple but elegant spaghetti strap, with the neck-line low enough to show a bit of cleavage but not seem sluttish. It came up to her knees, with a tiny slit on each side. Jess noticed the small smile on Hermione's lips, and grinned from behind her.

"See? You look good. Now go sit down and let me do your hair and make-up."

Hermione obeyed, and soon after, she was slipping on a pair of black heels she had stashed in her closet. Her hair hung in glorious ringlets down her back and her make-up was tastefully done.

"Hurry up, both of you!" Oliver's voice carried impatiently up the stairs, and Hermione bit her lip. She felt very apprehensive going downstairs, where the boys were waiting, but it seemed like she had no choice now. _This was what happened when you listened to Jessica Kyle_, Hermione thought, her stomach twisting in knots as she grabbed her cell phone and purse from her desk. She took a deep breath, then exhaled, her hands held up in mid-air as if to calm herself. Then she walked out into the landing and looked down cautiously into the first floor, where the male members of the team were talking. They didn't notice her. Yet.

She knocked on Jess's door, and heard the muffled response of, "You go on! Tell them I'll be a few minutes."

Okay, she would have to do this herself. Summoning her courage, Hermione lifted her chin and went down the stairs confidently, even though a part of her wanted to stop, start screaming like a banshee, and run. But she didn't.

Her heels made clicking noises on the stairs and the boys—well, men, you could say—gaped at her as she descended the last step. She smiled tentatively, thinking this was a bad idea after all.

Oliver finally cracked a grin. "Looking good, Hermione," he said, lifting his hand and whacking Harry with the back of it hard in the stomach. Harry lurched forward with a painful "oof!" and punched Oliver in the arm with a scowl, before turning to Hermione.

"Yeah, um—You look rather…"

Well, _he _looked rather flustered, was all Hermione was think, feeling a warm glow in her stomach.

"Gorgeous," Adam put in, grinning widely, while Ron nodded, as if in awe of her.

Hermione blushed furiously. "Thanks. You guys clean up very nicely as well."

"What about me?" Jess called, coming down the stairs, looking amazing as usual with a short denim mini-skirt and a halter-top.

"You look absolutely stunning," Oliver smiled, as he snaked his arms around her waist and kissed her lips lightly. Adam shook his head in mock-disgust at the display.

"Yeah, yeah…you look nice, Jess," Harry said, knowing the offhanded comment would annoy her and flashed a sly grin. "Let's go."

Jess threw him a dirty look, and sniffed. "Too bad I can't say the same for you, Potter," she retorted.

"Of course you can't. Because nice doesn't even begin to describe how utterly handsome and sexy I am," Harry puffed out his chest, and Hermione laughed, shrugging her jacket on.

"Riiiight," Jess said in disbelief, allowing Oliver to help her into her own jacket. "Thanks, baby." She pecked his cheek.

"The Portkey activates in ten seconds," Harry held out a book, and everyone reached out their hands to touch it.

They were transported to the alleyway near the club with a small _pop._

**Word Count: 2023**

**Pages: 5.5**

**READ THIS:**

A/N – I won't swarm you with excuses about why I'm updating after I don't even know how long, but I have major irl problems, give me a break. But I'm sorry. I'm trying, I swear. Anyway, how was this chapter? Also, the twin' last name is Kyle. I am aware that I had made a mistake of naming them differently in the pervious chapters…

The ending was a bit abrupt, aye? I just wanted the club chapter to be a chapter of its own. It'll be longer than this. Pinky promise. It'll be fun too! I hope you liked the idea of me bringing Seamus into the picture. –cackles and rubs hands together.-

That being said, thank you guys so much for the reviews! And this might sound greedy, but I aim for more, since I get literally thousands of hits per chapter and only a couple of reviews. That's hardly fair. I'm asking this as nicely as I can, please review; I'm doing this for you guys! And I'm talking about those who lurk around anonymously, without commenting. : p So do review, it makes my day!

-Chris.


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